Boulevard / Sierra Nevada Terra Incognita | Boulevard Brewing Co.

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Situated at opposite ends of the California Trail, pioneering breweries Sierra Nevada and Boulevard have embarked upon a journey into the unknown, to a land where adventures in flavor await. Terra Incognita is, fittingly, an earthy beer, celebrating the unique terroir or the two locations. Beginning with a grain bill of pale malt, amber malt, and both malted and unmalted wheat, it is then assertively hopped with Bravo and Styrian Goldings, dry-hopped with East Kent Goldings, and then barrel aged for nearly three months.

They all can't be zingers. I'm not sure if the one I had was a bit out of date but it was pretty poor. I actually threwup after the second glass. It's hard for me to put a real review on this after vomiting. I'll steer clear of this one.

L: Poured from a bottle to a tulip glass. Had a dark brown color and a thick texture. There was a massive, creamy, very long-lasting head. Excellent lacing. A good-looking beer.

S: A decent enough aroma of malt, hops, and a lot of dark fruit.

T: Tasted of some mild yeast notes, a bit of hops (not as much as expected), some malt, a good amount of dark fruit (plums, in particular), a hint of chocolate, and a tinge of the advertised whiskey. A solid, if somewhat uneven flavor. Not quite as aggressive as it should be, but not bad.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a very smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This is an uneven beer in some respects, but it's still very much worth a look. The low score is a little perplexing.

Pours a color that is somewhere between a tawny red and brown with a light brown two-finger head. Aroma of dark fruit, oak and alcohol. Taste is somewhat boozy with light wood and dark fruit flavors. Bourbon and malt flavors start to come out as the the beer warms. Medium bodied.

This is the 2013 version of the Terra Incognita, having been brewed, fermented, aged and packaged at Boulevard. The 2014 version, on the other hand, was brewed, fermented, aged and packaged at Sierra Nevada.

From a 750 mL bottle, the "best by" date is February of 2015; I'm not entirely sure how the aging of one year beyond its "best by" date will affect the quality of this beer, but I bought it because it was a retired brew and my liquor store only had one left in stock gathering dust on the back of a shelf.

Look: Massive light tan khaki head, about 3 fingers, and very frothy and dense, which lingers for a couple of minutes before settling into a creamy film above a very dark, nearly opaque coffee-brown body. Produces large clumps of heavy lacing.

Smell: Mellow and subtle at first, but it slowly becomes more potent and boozy as the beer warms up. Some muddy earthiness and dark malts up front with a faint essence of raspberry and browned, rotting apple. Tons of spices in the background along with some savory fruity tartness and a bit of funk. Traces of bourbon barrel and grainy hops are present as well.

Taste: Dry earth, bitter dark chocolate, roasted nuts, and toasted malts, with fruity wine and sour plum filling in the gaps. Some tart berry notes and vanilla surround everything, with raisins and molasses hitting the back, while bitter hops and oak come through strongly at the end. Slightly sour throughout with hints of bourbon and wine barrel and some funk.

Feel: Silky and smooth with a medium body and a perfect amount of tingly carbonation. Tangy and tart with some bitterness towards the end, and closing out with a dry, crisp finish.

It also seemed quite boozy for only 8.5%, and in fact it was much more inebriating than any other beer that I’ve had in this ABV range. Very smooth in terms of taste and feel, yet very inebriating; it really sneaks up on you. Although at first I suspected this may have been due to the fact that it had aged a year past its "best by" date, I later found out from the Ambassador Brewer at Boulevard Brewing Company that this was likely not the case:

“We see a negligible increase in alcohol during bottle conditioning, usually less than .5 ABV, but further aging of this beer or our other bottle conditioned beers will not result in a noticeably higher ABV.”

Overall: I really liked this one. It gave off sort of a "dark and heavy" vibe with varying degrees of subtle complexity, and yet the whole thing felt very light and smooth and easy-drinking. While it was certainly boozy in taste and feel, the inebriating effect that it had on me made it seem as if it had had a much higher ABV, and yet it went down so smoothly; very pleasant experience. I should also mention that this beer looked pretty awesome, and the colossal head on this thing was very satisfying. Overall, the 2013 Terra Incognita beautifully combines the sour, barrel-aged, hop, and malt notes, with the malts up front, the hops on the finish, the barrel-aged hiding beneath everything, and the sour surrounding it all.

P: Nice opaque brown, not much head, but what there is, is a khaki colour. Nice lacing on the glass.
A: Musty grape, chocolate, bourbon, some malt.
T: Wow, complexed tastes. Chocolate, wine, bourbon, sweet molasses, toasted malt.
M: Amazing chunky, bold, perfectly carbonated, small perfectly placed bitterness.
O: This has to be one of THE most interesting amd exciting beers I've had in some time. Stout and an IPA marriage. Well done Sierra & Boulevard!!!

I purchased this too long ago to remember where I got it or the price. I sat on it for close to a year. Poured into a short tulip glass. Pours a dark, dark, but slightly translucent brown, with a frothy head that wants to flow out of the glass, but dissipates rather quickly and leaves some thick lace. Very nice aromas of oak, dried fruit, liquor, and dark sugar/molasses. Taste follows smell with great liquor barrel notes, some vinous quality, lots of Belgian dark fruitiness, and nicely balanced brown sugar and bitterness. Mouth is along the lines of a Trappist ale but could have been just a touch fuller. Overall, I thought this was a great beer.

"Situated at opposite ends of the California Trail, pioneering breweries Sierra Nevada and Boulevard have embarked upon a journey into the unknown, to a land where adventures in flavor await. Terra Incognita is, fittingly, an earthy beer, celebrating the unique terroir or the two locations. Beginning with a grain bill of pale malt, amber malt, and both malted and unmaled wheat, it is then assertively hopped with Bravo and Styrian Goldings, dry-hopped with East Kent Goldings, and then barrel aged for nearly three months." Brewed in the style of an American Wild Ale, available in 750ml. bottles and on limited draft. Collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Boulevard, this bottle was packaged by the latter brewery in their large bottle format, although a future release was packaged by Sierra Nevada, this review accounts for the former release, with the latter release forthcoming.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle to a tulip glass. Served above 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours an explosive frothy foam head of a deep tan, mocha brown color over a a very murky dark brown body. Retention is very good and lacing is moderate and patchy. 4.25

(Smell) Funk and fruity tartness with some earthy spice, a biscuit and tangy toast malt profile, little hop aroma nor bitterness prevalent, nor much impact from the whiskey barrel aging, both are unfortunately either absent or overshadowed in the aroma of this beer. Dominant aromas are from the brett and yeast strains, with ample time to dominate this beer. Potency is moderate. 3.75

(Taste) Moderately tart and acidic brett/yeast characters forward, with a more thorough malt profile for a sour. Caramel, biscuit, light wheat and tangy rye, even a faint suggestion of delicate roast and chocolate malt after the swallow. The funk and tartness of the brett strain certainly overshadows the barrel aging subtleties of this beer, and I find it difficult to pick out much distinctive whiskey nor barrel flavor, although there is a chance that it blends effortlessly with the other flavors in this beer. I think that the Brettanomyces profile has gained just enough on the malt profile to form a nice balance for both flavors collectively. Altogether, this is a highly enjoyable beer, a nice option if you enjoy dark sours. 4

(Mouthfeel) Texture is silky, tangy, moderately dry. Carbonation is moderate, generating a medium frothiness and a moderately crisp finish. Body is medium+ for the style, medium+ overall. Balance is slightly tangy and tart over sweet and bitter. Alcohol presence is mild and there are no off characters. 3.75

(Overall) I find it unusual that the breweries didn't attempt to sell the wild ale angle in this beer on the label, as it comes through noticeably enough for me to consider it a dark sour. Although there are still some reservations as to how potent the tartness and funk is in this beer, I think that the Brettanomyces has grown considerably in this beer, and made for quite a tasty and complex ale. Overall, I'd consider it an enjoyable beer with enough sourness and funk to keep it interesting, the slightly fuller malt body was a bit more substantial but a welcome twist. Perhaps the most notable misfortune is the limitations from the whiskey barrel aging, which falls very much into the background of this beer, behind the funk and acidity. I'm looking forward to seeing how Sierra Nevada's rendition varies, but overall recommend this beer as a worthy try, regardless of the brewery that packages it. 3.75

Either this was a bad bottle or I waited too long to open it but this was the worst beer I've tried in recent memory.
Overly carbonated with large bubbles reminiscent of my early homebrew experiments.
The smell is harsh graininess, RC Cola, slight funk from the brett and some smokey, burnt tire-like aroma.
Taste follows the nose very closely with an awful bitterness thrown in on the back end which makes me gag slightly. Overwhelming brett and funk. Tastes like burning. Terrible.
The mouthfeel is effervescent like a sparkling water which whisks away this elixir from my palate.
Overall, this was awful. Like I mentioned, maybe this was just a bad bottle as others seem to rate it reasonably well or I possibly let it sit too long (just nigh over three years) and the brett went nuts and destroyed what was a decent beer.
Shame. A rare drain-pour for me.